Hi all,

Beth and I went to Hayes and Peters Roads in Geauga County this morning, looking for some winter birds. For those who don’t know it, Hayes Road is a (mostly) Amish farm road, going north-south. It’s just east of Middlefield, practically at the Trumbull County line. It’s often a good place for winter migrants. Also a good place for conversations with other birders and with Amish farmers, who in our experience really know their birds. We had a nice chat with a guy who had just finished spreading manure on a field.

Here’s what we saw in a couple of hours:

Canada Goose, 2

Rock Pigeon, 19

Bald Eagle, 2 (an obvious pair, and their nest is easily seen in the woods east of Hayes Rd.

Rough-legged Hawk, 4 (3 dark morph, 1 light)

Downy Woodpecker, 1

American Crow, 3

European Starling, 160 (well this is what we reported to e-bird. Really, we couldn’t count them all, probably a lot more than this)

Eastern Bluebird, 3 (2 males, 1 female)

House Sparrow, 32

House Finch, 3 (1 male, 2 females)

Northern Cardinal, 1 male

We had hoped to see Snow Buntings and Horned Larks—the latter had been reported there and nearby, but no luck.

Best wishes,

Steve Cagan

Cuyahoga County